Titans
by UnamusedAron
Summary: Fumiko Madoka only wanted to get through school. She never expected to be accepted into the most prestigious colleges in Japan, nor did she expect to find such a wide variety of trainers within it. Whilst experiencing hardship and battling her past, Fumiko realizes that the world is in terrible danger- and she and her new companions may be the only ones who can save it. SYOC.
1. The Earth's Lament

**Chapter 1**

White overlapped with gray like a spill of paint as the sky was torn open, a lightning bolt parting the stormy clouds above. The jagged fracture of light hung in the sky for a mere moment- a picturesque example of nature's fury- before disappearing as quickly as it had come. A rattling clap of thunder followed just seconds after, shaking the very earth with its might. Mingled rain and hail poured down from above. The water crystals were small, but their damage was mighty, and the dirty figures slogging through the mud had to pause frequently to scrub away the blood running down their faces from the knife-like, icy edges. Then they continued on through the howling wind as if they were taking a stroll through the park, each outfitted in drab brown cloaks that covered their entire bodies. The hoods were pulled down over each person's eyes, letting only their grimly set mouths remain subject to the weather. They were all carrying eggs. There must have been a hundred people, all bearing a single fragile life within their hands as they moved along.

The group stumbled through the woods as silent as ghosts. Only the sound of their boots signaled that there was life in the ravaged land at all. They seemed to be heading straight for a grove of willow trees in the distance. It looked quite out of place among the towering pines which surrounded it. Each cloaked figure hugged their egg close to their chest, hoping to protect it from the biting cold. Nothing else stirred besides the shuddering trees.

As the crowd reached the grove, they entered without any hesitation. As if something magical were at work, the howling wind stopped at once. The rain turned from a hammering monsoon to a light drizzle. Hail disappeared altogether. Though the sky above was still dark and ominous, it seemed to be walled off from the outside world altogether. Overhanging tresses of leaves, tinted with blends of red and brown, gazed watchfully at the passing group as they traveled between their boughs' winding trunks. Finally, they reached a secluded, overflowing river and stopped.

"We're here."

The single voice was quiet, but the surrounding grove was quieter. Nervous whispering broke out among the rest of the people at the statement, but it took only a raise of the speaker's hand to silence them. She stepped away from the group and let the dim light from above wash over her, which highlighted her pale complexion and light brown hair that spilled out from her hood. The waters gurgled softly at her approach, as if they had been expecting her, and then continued away downstream. The egg she held was not much unlike the other ones- a mismatch of colors turned dull by the dirt and rain. It had a few blunt spikes one one end, but that was the only feature of it that separated it from the others in any way. Its holder sighed softly as she stepped into the soft silt. Water gushed up to her ankles and then her calves as she walked further in. The rest of the group watched in deathly silence as she reached the slow-moving current. There, within the cool blue stream, she set the egg. It began to bob downstream, slowly but certainly.

She moved away, and others followed her lead. Each set their tiny vessel housing life afloat, and one after another the small eggs followed the spiky one in the lead. They began disappearing around a bend not far off, and soon the final one had slipped from sight. The cloaked figures all bowed their heads for a brief moment before gazing towards their evident leader. She sighed and nodded with satisfaction.

"My brothers and sisters, we have completed our duty. Let us return home."

They murmured quietly among themselves as they turned back, but were soon drowned out by the wind and rain as they left behind the willows. Once more the storm raged around them, and before long all of them had disappeared into the dark with no intent of returning.

* * *

"Honey, if you don't get down here within five minutes, I'll hand your ticket off to the first unfortunate soul I find on the streets!"

Oh, crap! The girl tangled up among her comfortable sheets would have normally brushed off her father's warning and returned to the blissful clutches of sleep, but today was different. As she practically rocketed out of the covers and hit her head on the bunk bed above before scrambling to her dresser, all she could dwell on was the fact that she was prone to screwing up like this. Her thoughts were a whirlwind of confusion. Clothes, clothes, clothes. Dammit, what to wear? At the very least, she consoled herself, she'd packed her bags last night. But that left very few options for comfortable outfits. All that were in her bare drawers now were semi-fancy clothes her friends had tried to get her to wear over the years. Ugh. She eventually chose a loosely fitting floral tank top and jeans, which she threw on with all haste as she tumbled into the bathroom to wash her face and get ready.

Ten minutes later, the girl limped down the stairs with a brand new bruise on her forehead, light brown tresses falling into her eyes due to a messy brushing, and a grouchy attitude to boot. But she looked presentable, and at this point that was enough to satisfy her. She emerged into the small living room with a suitcase under either arm and a backpack slung over her shoulder, sighing heavily when her dad smiled with understanding in her direction. He ran his fingers through his dark hair as he turned towards the mudroom.

"You look lovely, sweetheart. To think that my daughter is finally going off to college!" he gushed, opening the door and ushering her outside into the fresh air. She blinked painfully at the sunlight, but it didn't matter much, because the two of them quickly got into a small car which rattled out of the driveway, talking up a storm to one another. The girl was practically bursting with eagerness, despite her rude awakening. She chattered up a storm about how she was going to be attending one of the most prestigious universities in all of the regions, going on and on about her plans until she was quite out of breath. Nevermind that her father already knew all of this. He, too, looked enthralled.

Half an hour came and went, but it seemed like only minutes had passed before they arrived at a bustling train station. The turning in of tickets, the lines, the cereal bar the girl jammed into her mouth as she waited... it all passed in a blur. Before long, she was standing at the edges of a throng of people, waiting with tense excitement to board the train soon to be arriving. She checked her watch- five more minutes. Good. That gave her some time. She turned slightly around and sucked in a deep breath.

"Hey, Dad?"

Her father straightened himself instantaneously, a sheepish smile crossing his face as the girl noticed him taking pictures, and put away his phone in a snap. "Yes, sweetie? Do you need something?"

She giggled slightly at his antics, coming closer to stand on her tiptoes and give him a kiss on the forehead. However, the smile on her face was quickly fading. "I love you."

"I love you too, my little Fu-Fu. Ah, it's been so long since I called you that! I'm going to miss having you around, even though I've spent the last thirteen years with you."

Her face flushed red at the childhood nickname, but she didn't say anything else on the subject. She rather clutched the straps of her backpack tighter and looked down. Despite preparing herself mentally to ask her father this, her body still refused to give her confidence. Her voice came out as quiet and shaky instead of the powerful sound she'd been imagining.

"Do you think Mom would be proud of me?"

The question was simple, but the answer was not. Her father put a large hand on her shoulder, and she glanced at it. This was the same hand that had patched her wounds, cooked her dinner, and gently set an egg in her own palms nine years ago that would become her best friend. So why did it feel so foreign now? Her heart twisted in pain at his brief silence.

"I do not doubt for a second that your mother has watched you grow up into the fine young woman you are, and was beside you through all of the highs and lows. Certainly she knows you will do great things in your life."

A smile slowly spread across her face. Granted, it wasn't a large one. But it was enough to lift her spirits. She embraced her father, and for just a few moments the noise around her seemed to melt away. The beeping of cars, the loud conversations between others, the footsteps echoing through the chamber... it all disappeared. But all too quickly it returned.

"Oh! That's your train, sweetheart!"

Her head snapped up at his exclamation, and she watched the crowds slowly merge into lines that shuffled up into the cars of the sleek gray locomotive. She immediately got in one more kiss on her father's cheek before snatching up her two suitcases and following the leads of the others. Before long, she had gotten inside and found a seat next to the window and a compartment above to put her suitcases in. She leaned against its sill and stared out at her father, who was waving with enough intensity to cause some people to walk well around him. She giggled and returned the wave. Then the train hissed and lurched forward, beginning its slow journey towards the opposite end of the region. She noticed her reflection in the glass- tears were welling up in her deep blue eyes. She watched the station, a mere gray splotch against the cheery blue sky, until it had disappeared into the distance.

At long last, her journey had begun.

* * *

"Excuse me, miss? Do you mind if I sit here?"

The girl was awoken from a deep slumber by someone tapping on her shoulder. She sat up and glanced over at the person who had spoken. She was tall and lanky, wearing a disheveled outfit made up of a tie-dye shirt with colors so bright it made her eyes hurt, skinny jeans, and hiking boots that matched the color of her eyes and nearly reached her knees. Her long black hair was pulled up into a ponytail to frame her fawn-brown eyes, which were sparkling with eagerness. The former winced at the thought that this person was probably very talkative and would keep her up the whole way, and was about to suggest she sit somewhere else, but upon further observation there seemed to be no other empty seats in the car. Many people were standing. She admittedly wouldn't like to be one of them. So with a heavy sigh, she moved her backpack below her feet and gestured for the girl to sit there with a quiet grumble.

"Oh, thank you so much, miss... miss..." the younger girl trailed off, unsure of what to call her.

"Fumiko. Fumiko Madoka. But call me Fumi, okay?" she sighed, trying her best to sound welcoming but instead giving off a kind of "leave-me-alone" vibe. Thankfully, the girl didn't seem to notice, and she executed a flawless fifteen degree bow before sitting beside her and plunking her overstuffed backpack on her lap.

"Okay, then! Thank you, Miss Fumi! Can I call you Fumi-chan?" she gushed, unzipping her bag and rifling through the contents. Her voice was like a foghorn, and some others who were trying to have their own conversations shot her some dirty looks. But she was oddly unfazed by their glares, and continued to chatter senselessly like she herself had been in the car. In a wave of storytelling the girl quickly forgot her earlier question, and Fumiko hardly had a chance to reply anyways.

At first, she tried to sound interested. She occasionally nodded, laughed a bit, or made some crude observation. But her new traveling companion hardly stopped to breathe and honestly seemed to be talking less to the one sitting next to her and more to herself, and so soon Fumi gave up trying to do anything and just made an attempt to fall back asleep. She failed. All she managed to learn that was of any use from the strange young woman in the next hour was that her name was Kiyoko Takahashi, she was eighteen years old, and that she was also headed to a college down in the south. Oh, goodie. They'd sure have a handful with her. She checked her watch again as if by impulse. The train was scheduled to arrive at three in the afternoon, and it was only eleven. Only four more hours with this talkative nightmare.

"College, here I come..." she sighed to herself. Then she buried her head into her hands and tried to drown out the clamor around her. This was going to be painful.

Little did Fumiko know, her life was about to get a lot more noisy.

* * *

Hello there, citizens of fanfiction! I am pleased to introduce to you one of my latest and greatest stories, which is also going to be an SYOC. I love these things, man. I'm not usually one to join them, but I always have a lot of fun bringing other peoples' characters to life with my own goals in mind for them. I haven't done one in awhile, though. Nobody actually knows this, but I had another account on this site before I eventually gave up on it. My writing was sloppy, my plots were horrible, and despite the friendships I'd formed I just slowly lost interest in posting there. It's pretty dead now. Surprisingly, there are still people following the only story I have up. I should probably delete it. But anyways, I've improved a lot over time, and now I think I can finally create a proper story and finish it well. I already know where I want to go with this fanfic anyways- I just have to fit the characters I receive into it.

Heh, I know what you're thinking. _Will she just shut up already and talk about where I should be submitting my character?_ No worries. Even I'm bored of me. I'll just tape my mouth closed and point you in the direction of the character form.

Everything you need to know is going to be on my profile. Ignore all my Pokemon Fallen crap- I mean, unless you want to read it. Aggressive coughing. The story is super neat. Go check it out.

Have a great day!

-UnamusedAron


	2. A False Criminal Mentality

**Chapter 2**

"Alright, then- use Hammer Arm!"

Fumiko yipped in surprise as a thunderous crash resounded from somewhere not far off, shaking the ground beneath her. She managed to stay on her feet, but unfortunately the girl next to her did not. With a yell of surprise, Kiyoko teetered, screamed, and waved her arms like a windmill before falling into one of the immaculately trimmed bushes surrounding the college's property. The former of the two pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration and groaned. How was she possibly going to be sharing a _dorm_ with this ball of energy?

It was quite the unhappy fate for one such as herself, who tended to be more quiet and reserved. How could she have known that the two of them were headed to the same school? Quite frankly, she didn't think the younger girl gifted enough to attend. But to be fair, neither was she herself.

It would have been painful enough to live in the same wing of the dormitories with her, where she would've been certain to yell at her every morning on the way to class- but they literally shared the exact same room. 'Roomies,' Kiyoko had called it. Oh, boy.

"Oops! Do you think I'm gonna get suspended for that? Gosh, I sure hope not! Nobody'll notice, right? See? Just one big giant hole, haha. Bushes grow fast. Somebody is being awfully irresponsible, though, battling right in front of the sc- oh my god, someone's battling right in front of the school!"

The question to be asking, Fumiko thought grumpily to herself, was if this woman would ever close her mouth. She'd seemed so quiet when she'd first tapped on her shoulder on the train. But now the girl blew past her like a rocket to a roughly chalked training field on the grass- far smaller than she was used to- surrounded on all sides by a throng of cheering students. What was going on? This didn't look like a typical match. Admittedly a bit curious, she followed not far behind Kiyoko to get a closer look.

"Keep it up, buddy. Listen to what I say, not what he does. Just stay out of range of those physical attacks."

Through the screams of the others, Fumiko caught wind of one of the trainer's orders. So it _was_ a Pokemon match! Her heart began to beat faster. She moved closer and approached the mass, and even elbowed her way past a few other students to get to the front. There, she beheld a spectacle unlike anything she had ever seen.

On one side of the field stood a gigantic, bipedal creature towering at the six and a half foot mark with a murderous rage in its dusty brown eyes. Bony gray plates overlapped one another, shifting and twisting with the creature's movements, covered in gashes and gouges from both past and present battles. It tipped back its head and roared, stamping the ground below it; much to the shrieking approval of the students. Fumiko knew it well- none other than the biggest and baddest rock type Pokemon in Japan... Rhydon.

The other side boasted a much less intimidating opponent- if you could call it that at all. It looked mainly yellow and quite rodent-like in stature, with a curling black tail that ended in a large, yellow bolt of lightning like some kind of ditsy fridge magnet. A pair of large rabbit feet and finger-less stumps for arms only completed its odd appearance. The only feature to its name that could be called remotely intimidating were its eyes, which may not have held unbridled rage, but reflected sincerity and determination in the heat of the battle. Even then, it wasn't much compared to everything else. Its spiky ears twitched attentively as it listened to its trainer.

This was Raichu, the evolution of the far more adorable Pikachu, and within an instant Fumiko was intrigued by the seemingly unfair battle- especially since the former was immune to electricity. She forgot her earlier plan of spending the next few hours settling in and mentally preparing herself to live in close quarters with Kiyoko and tuned in to watch the battle. She could almost imagine the stadium surrounding them and the lights shining down upon each trainer...

The Raichu moved like a blur, as though it were using Agility, but it looked like it were doing nothing of the sort. No stat boosts. No held items. How could it run so swiftly? Her eyes were glued to the electric type as it zoomed around and around its infuriated opponent like an odd kind of carousel. The latter screeched with anger, turning in frantic circles to try and get in a punch, despite its owner's cries to stay focused.

"Ugh! Why the HELL are you so fast? Stand still, ya little rat! Rhydon, cripple him with Rock Blast!"

Evidently the dual type's trainer was struggling. She turned to the owner of the voice and found him to be a flustered young man perhaps in his early twenties, clenching his fists and sweat pouring down his scarlet face. Hm. Trainers were usually not as impressive as their Pokemon, but this was just a bit worrisome. Did all trainers here panic when battles weren't going their way?

The spectators roared as the huge animal raised its arms above its head and began to stamp. A haze formed in the air, crackling with the mysterious summoning abilities of Pokemon, and eventually formed into two large boulders, of which the first it threw with all hell's fury at the tiny Raichu. It leaped over it with almost flawless poise, arcing its back before landing. The rock slammed into the ground and formed cracks where it had been just seconds before. Unfortunately, its flamboyancy came with a cost- balance. It stumbled for a brief moment as it hit the ground. That was all it took. The trainer didn't even need to order it- the dual type rattled the very bones of all the onlookers with its triumphant roar as it snapped its wrist back and tossed the next boulder. This one hit its mark head-on, sending the small electric type crashing into the grass, where it lay still as the same stone it had been hit with. The crowd instantly fell to a hush.

Panic twisted in Fumiko's chest. What were they doing!? Not a single person had moved. They all stared at the brutally injured Raichu and did nothing. Instead, whispering among each other, they turned to the Rhydon's trainer. He cleared his throat anxiously, face drained of all color. But when he tried to speak, not a word escaped him. Then the students exploded into panic.

"Dude, you went way overboard!"

"You deserve to be the one calling the office!"

"No, we can't even do that! He's gonna get expelled!"

"Where'd Raichu's trainer go? He's gone!"

"I can't believe I got roped into this!"

"What if the police get involved? Our reputation will be ruined!"

"The teacher's coming! _Scatter_!"

This last shriek from one of the onlookers sent everyone in different directions, pushing Fumiko to the ground among the chaos. She yelped in pain as screams rung in her ears, feet stamped on her fingers, and a misplaced kick hit her straight in between the eyes. The world began to spin beneath her. What was going on? She heard Kiyoko's frantic voice, but it sounded far away and oddly quiet. She let herself fall into the grass, staring up into the sun as it quickly started to fade away. There were no dramatic or panicked thoughts in her head, though.

All she could think about was how terribly unlucky she was.

* * *

"Let's see here... Fumiko Madoka. She was accepted just last week. Came all the way from the small town of Cherry Flower on the opposite coast to get here. Grades are slightly-"

"Cherry Blossom."

"Excuse me?"

"It's Cherry Blossom, not Cherry _Flower_."

Just like that, Fumiko's consciousness returned. It wasn't bit by bit, like what happened when she was waking up from a dream. Everything that had occurred not too long ago flooded into her head, and pretty much the rest of her life came right behind her like a second tsunami. The moment she'd heard her beloved small town be labeled incorrectly, she'd just had to redeem it. What kind of ridiculous place was called Cherry Flower? She didn't usually talk back, though. Her hand clapped over her mouth as she realized that six adults were present, encircling the cot she was placed in. One held a clipboard stuffed with paper; another was wrapping her leg in clean white bandages and wore a nurse's outfit. The other four muttered among themselves at her reaction.

"Ahem. I am terribly sorry. I will have it corrected in your files," the one holding the clipboard apologized. He was a middle-aged man with a balding head and ring of brown stubble surrounding it, constantly tapping fingers, and a pair of timid hazel eyes that were constantly darting around the room. Fumiko could have sworn she'd seen his picture on their website... weird. Assistant Head of something? This guy didn't look like he could head a Pichu if he tried. He took a pencil from behind his ear and began to scratch something down on the paper, but a hand stopped him.

"That is, _if_ she can stay at this school at all. I highly doubt it with that kind of attitude."

The severe voice of the second adult had the girl snapping to attention. She was far older than him, with streaks of silver in her jet black hair, but also far more intimidating. Her dark eyes- almost colorless- glared at her from over a pair of wire glasses. Fumiko had also seen her picture somewhere on the site. Deputy Head something. Obviously she was higher ranking than him.

"Now, Yamamoto-san, don't be too harsh on the girl. She just suffered a concussion and was passed out for the last few hours. Can you blame her for being a bit snappish?" the nurse chimed, patting the woman's shoulder. Fumiko noticed that she was winking at her. Well, at least somebody seemed to be on her side- for whatever reason she didn't know. But this Miss Yamamoto didn't seem to give a Hoothoot. She merely huffed and twisted a few strands of hair around her bone-thin finger.

"No matter the situation, I believe that every student who is lucky enough to come to my- ahem, our- school should be able to respect authority. It's not that difficult," she harrumphed, turning her nose into the air. The girl was beginning to like this woman less and less.

"Yamamoto-san, may we please discuss her manners later? At the moment, we have something to discuss with you. It's about her Pokemon," one of the men nodded in her direction. Fumiko stiffened, but Miss Yamamoto looked inherently pleased.

"Good news?" she pressed, hurrying over to them. They began to walk out of the room, and the clipboard man followed them. The last thing she caught was a loud chiming of 'very good indeed,' and a few devilish grins. Then the door closed. The color drained from her face quicker than that of the Rhydon's trainer. What had they been _doing_ to her team? She made an attempt to leap from her cot, but a hand fell on her shoulder, and she looked up at the nurse, who shook her head and lowered her voice.

"Don't worry, dear. Your Pokemon are just fine. I was told that they were removed from their Pokeballs and sedated to avoid any further incidents. I'm terribly sorry you have to go through this on your first day, but if you hadn't vandalized school property or just blatantly broke the rule of no battling, it wouldn't have happened, would it?"

Fumiko did a double take. Hold on, here. Something wasn't right.

"What do you mean?" she asked, genuinely confused. She hadn't been battling, just spectating! The nurse clucked her tongue and turned towards a shelf of strange medicines that she began to rummage through.

"Oh, my. You must have had some memory loss included in that concussion. Do you not remember? Our security footage showed you walking onto the campus with some chalk in hand and a Pokeball in the other. You drew a makeshift arena in the grass and then conducted the battle against another young man who was also taken to the first aid office. We didn't see the entire battle due to the crowd, but when security came on hand and it cleared, you must have taken a nasty fall and hurt yourself. That's why you're here now."

"No, that's got to be wrong. I noticed the battle _after_ it had started!" Fumiko cried out, standing up again and stumbling. She forced herself to sit back down on the cot lest she fall back unconscious. "I just got caught in the crossfire! I didn't even know they sold chalk in the city!"

Okay, that last part was a bit stretched. But she was desperate. Already her first day on campus and she was being falsely checked onto a criminal record! She was a very unmistakable person. Tall, stick-thin to a fault, hair she could trip on if she left it down... the nurse turned around and looked her dead in the eyes.

"Would you like to see for yourself?"

Despite the serious stare on her face, Fumiko's spirits quickly lifted. Of course she did! Then this entire mishap could be cleared up when they saw it wasn't really her. She nodded eagerly and let the older woman take her by the hand over to a computer. She clicked around a little bit with her mouse until a screen popped up. In the corner it said in big white letters, _left garden flank_. She pulled a little button at the bottom backwards, and then stepped back to let her watch. Her eyes were glued to the screen, ready to pounce upon any little mistake and clear her name. But very quickly she saw otherwise.

There, a little 2D person on a crystal clear screen, walked into the camera's range. They wore what looked to be almost the same outfit she had on. No problem. It was the appearance that mattered. The nurse wasn't lying, though- indeed the person was holding chalk in one hand and a Pokeball in the other; the latter of which was quickly stuffed into a pocket. They began to draw the arena Fumiko had seen outside with flawless accuracy, down on one knee. Then they stood up again, wiped their forehead with a hand, and pulled back their hood. Her breath was taken away immediately.

It was her! Every tiny feature! From the tight ponytail in her hair to the dull sparkle in her eyes, the person looked unmistakably like her!

* * *

This chapter didn't take quite as long as I expected it would! I'm pretty proud of progressing so quickly. By the third chapter we'll be beginning to introduce characters. Comment, favorite, do whatever. I hope you enjoy!


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